The lawyer, Peace Onyesom, who has recently been admitted to the bar, and her sister, Gift Onyesom, who were taken from the Okene-Auchi Road on Friday, have been released.
The brother of the victims, Godspower Onyesom, verified their release to a PUNCH Metro reporter during a phone call on Tuesday.
PUNCH Metro notes that the Peace was involved in the Nigerian Law School’s call-to-the-bar ceremony on September 23.
She was heading back to Benin, in Edo State, with her sister when they were taken.
The sister of the victims, Adaeze Onyesom, revealed in an exclusive conversation with PUNCH Metro that the kidnappers were asking for a ransom of N40m.
She mentioned that the abductors contacted the family on Friday, requesting a payment of N100m, which the family asked to be lowered.
Adaeze stated, “When they (the kidnappers) reached out to us on Friday night, they asked us to provide N100m, but we informed them we couldn’t come up with that sum and begged them. On Saturday, they called again and lowered the amount to N20m, but we told them we could only manage N3m, which they refused.”
Eventually, they called us back to inform that they are not accepting anything below N20m per person, which totals N40m for both of us. We requested that we can only come up with N7m, but they refused.
She had also expressed sorrow over the situation, which brought hardship to the family, leading them to sell their properties to gather the ransom.
Verifying her release, Godspower stated, “She has been set free. She is back home.”
In a related video sent to our reporter, Peace expressed gratitude to all who helped her, mentioning that the military saved them.
She stated, “Thank you, everyone. My sister and I have been saved. The military in Okpella has rescued us.”
In a Facebook update on Tuesday, an ex-employee of the Delta State Governor, Harrisson Gwanishu, stated that Peace and her sibling had been set free.
Gwamnishu stated, “Peace Onyesom and Gift Onyesom, who were taken captive while returning from a ritual gathering in Abuja, have now been released to us close to a village in Okpella. The trip has been challenging.”
Attempts to obtain a response from the Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, Williams Aya, were unsuccessful since he did not answer calls placed to his number at the time this report was submitted.
PUNCH Metro states that the Nigeria Police Force’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, revealed on his X account on Sunday that eight of the kidnapped individuals were recovered.
This event is not the initial case of abduction on the Abuja, Kogi, and Benin highways.
In February, Rofiat Lawal, a member of the National Youth Service Corps based in Ibadan, Oyo State, was abducted by unknown armed individuals on the Benin-Ore Expressway.
A friend, who identified as Agbakwara, sounded the alarm regarding Lawal’s kidnapping, emphasizing that she was on her way back from Benin, Edo State, to report for her main posting in Oyo when she was taken.
Nevertheless, she was freed after her family paid a ransom of N1 million.
In addition, on September 9, the Kogi State Vigilante Services reported the kidnapping of three passengers from an 18-seater Toyota bus at Aku village on the Okene-Lokoja Expressway.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc.Syndigate.info).
